Over summer I went on a two and a half week trip to Colorado with a program called The Road Less Traveled. On this trip I got the opportunity of a lifetime: the chance to white-water-raft in the Arkansas River, rock climb 2 different courses deep in the forest, participate in a hiking trip to a waterfall then to the peaks of granite sand-dunes which rose to be 700 feet tall.
The most challenging task of this whole trip was hiking a 14,000ft mountain. The most rewarding was the service work I did in Colorado. I worked at The Mission: Wolf Refuge. Mission Wolf is an non-profit educational wolf sanctuary that’s located near a small town called Westcliff in Colorado. They not only provide the chance to see wolves up close, but demonstrate a sustainable way of life and educate people through hands-on experiences with the wolves that live there. They operate on solar power energy; eat food which we helped grow from their green houses; and use only items that were donated or recycled.
As a volunteer, our job was to assist the staff in the daily care of the wolves and other jobs they needed to get done around the reserve — such as building and repairing old fences for the rehabilitation farm they have for horses. We worked inside the habitats to create a fire bunker for the wolves in case of a forest fire, as well as to provide them with more of a spacious and safe environment. We even got the chance to contribute extra hands to help feed the 47 wolves. Feeding the wolves was a very long process…
My favorite part of the trip was being able to observe and learn about the wolves’ behavior. I’m proud to say I got the chance to be in these wolves’ lives, and they got to be in mine. In the end, I walked away with a better understanding not only of conservation, sustainability and the environment, but great lessons I can carry throughout my lifetime and an experience that I will never forget.
Please check out my SlideRocket below and visit Mission Wolf website!